Automatically-operated garage door



F. B. NEWELL. AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED GARAGE DOOR ATION FILED MAY 3.1'920- RENEWED MAR. 24.1922.

APPLIC 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patent/ed Nov. 211,, 1922.

F. B. NEWELL.

AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED GARAGE DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, I920. RENEWED MAR. 24, 1922.

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F. New/ell F. B. NEWELL. AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED GARAGE DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3.1920- RENEWED MAR- 24, I922.

Rammed Ndv. 21, 1922. l a sans-SHEET 3.

IEBEJDRICK NEVJELL, OZ? DENVEIt, CQLGRADO, ASSIGNOR T0 NENELL AUTOI'JIATIC GARAGE DOOR COIJZPAB Y, CORPORATIQN 9. 3 COLORADO.

Alli?OMATICALLY-QPERATED GARAGE DOOR.

Application filed May 3, 1920, Serial No. 378,633. Renewed March 24, 1322.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, FREDRICK l3. Nnwnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, county of Denver. and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AntoniaticallytJperated Garage Doors; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap pertains to make and use the some, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a door for garages which will be automatically opened and closed by machines passing in and out.

Briefly, the invention comprises a lower door and an upper door, the lower door be hip; countor-weighted so as to raise the upper door by its weight, the two doors being connected by chains passing over pulleys. The doors are normally held in closed position by means or a latch. The latch is connected with a trigger in the flooring over which the machines pass, and is adapted to be released thereby to allow the doors to open. An air-operated device connected with one of the doors is controlled by a valve adapted to be opened by another trigger in the flooring over which the'machines pass to admit air to said device, to close the doors after the machine has passed through the door.

In the drawings:

Fig, 1 is a front elevation of the device as indicated by line 11 of Fig. 5, and shows the door open.

Fig. 2- is a plan showing a portion of the operating mechanism. 2 y

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary clevaticni showing: the door partially closed.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the door entirely closed.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation indicatoiilby line 5+5 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 6 and 7 are details taken on lines 6-6 and 7-7 of Fig. 8, showing the ar rangement of the edges of the door sections.

A floor 10 is shown extending from each side of the doorway which comprises a pair Serial No. 546,533.

of spaced upright timbers 12 at each side of the door, between which a lower door section 14 and an upper door section 15 are slidably mounted.

The top of the doorway is closed with a panel 16, and top cross timbers 18 are provided to complete the framework. T he lower door section 14 is heavier than the section 15 and has its ends extending into the space between the respective pairs of timbers 12 a greater distance than do the ends of the upper section 15.

Eyelets or hooks 20 are secured to the top of the extreme ends of the lower section 14 and have connected thereto chains 22, which pass upward beyond the ends of the door section 15, over pulleys 24, and thence downward into engagement with eyelets or hooks 26 in the top of the door section 15. By this construction, when the section 14 moves down, the section 15 moves upward, and vice versa, as is apparent.

The door section 15 is provided with an air cylinder 30, into which there passes a fixed air tube 82, controlled by a valve 34, upon the top 18 of the framework, said valve. being operated by a lever arm 86, normally retained in closed position by a tension spring 38. An air line 40 leacs from said valve to a source of air under pressure. A chain 42 is connected with said arm 36 and extends laterally over a pulley 44 and thence down to a set of pulleys to be described. The upper section 15 is provided at one side with a latch block 46, having an inclined face 47 and an upper shoulder 48, adapted to be engaged by the offset end of a latch 50piv0ted at an intermediate point to the framework 12 as indicated at 52. The upper end of the latch 50 18 connected with a plunger 54, normally pro jected toward the left as shown in the figures by means of a spring from a plunger housing. A. chain is connected with the upper end or the latch 50 for the purpose of drawing; the same and said plunger 54 toward the right, said chain 60 passing laterally over a pulley 62 and thence down.

Each of the chains 42 and 60 passes over one of a pair of pulleys 64 mounted upon a stub shaft 66. The chain 60 is divided at a point somewhat above thebottoms of the pulleys, one section of the chain passing to the right under the respect ve pulley 64, and.

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the right under a pulley 142. The two secger 54.

.door section to rise.

tions of the chain 42 pass thence to and under pulleys 7 4 and upward to triggers 76, pivoted at 78 to the flooring 10. The

triggers 70 and 76 extend across the driveway a sullicient distance to insure their being engaged by the wheels of the vehicles,

so that saidtriggers will be depressed, causing their outer ends to be elevated to produce a draft upon the respective chains 42 and 60.

As shown, the triggers 70 are slightly closer to the door than the triggers 76. The triggers 7O operate the latch 50, and the plunger 54, through the medium ofthe chain 60. The triggers 76 operate the valve 34 through the medium of-the chain 42.

Assuming that the door is closed, as shown in Fig, 4, as a machine drives up to the door from either direction, the front wheel passes over the air valve-operating trigger 7 6, and then immediately over the plunger-operating trigger 70. The plunger when in normal position, extends out to the point indicated in Figs. 3 and .4, so that its left end will be engaged by the operating arm 36 of the valve 34. The end of: the arm 36 engages the plunger 54 and presses it toward the right until said arm passes above the plunger, whereupon the spring 55 forces the plunger under the arm 86,.locking said arm in elevated position, as shown in Fig. 3.

Dratt upon the chain withdraws the plunger 54 to release the arm .86. Thus, when a wheel passes over the trigger 7 6 and opens the valve, it is immediately released when the wheel depresses the trigger to release the latch 50 and withdraw the plun- This allows the lower section to fall, and by its weight to cause the upper The machine then con tinues through the doorv and the passage of the rear wheels over the triggers 76 and 70 in quick, succession repeats the operation just described, leaving the valve 34 in closed position.

As the machine leaves the door from the other side it depresses first the trigger 70, which withdraws the plunger, and has no effect, and then depresses the trigger 76,

which opens the air valve 34, thereby allowing air to passto the cylinder 30 to close the door. Of course, the rear wheels depress the trigger 70 to release the valve arm 36, but passage over the trigger 76 by said rear wheels immediately restores it to open position. Air continues then to enter :the cylinder 30 until it is forced down to its lowermost position, thereby closing the door. At the last stage of the closing operation the end of the latch 50 rides up along the inclined face 47 of the latch retainer 46, until it engages over the shoulder 48. Movement along said inclined face 47 causes the uppen end of said latch 50 to withdraw the plunger 54 from engagement with the valve arm 86, thereby cutting off the air supply. This leaves the doorsin closed position.

If desired, the chains 42 and 60 may be provided with devices 242 and 26.0, respectively, as shown in Fig. 1, which lead to the office, so that the doors may be operated from that point.

The valve 84 is provided with usual re- .lease port v(not shown) which allows the air under pressure toescape from cylinder 30 after latch. 50 has engaged shoulder 48 of latch block 46 to withdraw plunger 54 and valve 34 has moved to closed position under influence of the spring 38.

I claim:

1. An automatically operated door comprising a vertically movable door section having a counter weight to open the same, an air operated device to close it, means to release the door section for movement by said counterweight, means to control an air sup- .)5 ply tesaid device, a trigger connected with said release, and a trigger connected with said air-control, said triggers being positioned for operation by a passing vehicle, said counter-weight being in the form of another door section cooperating with the first mentioned door section.

2. An automatically operated (door 00-21% prising a movable door section having a counter weight to move it in one directioman air operated device to move it in the opposite direction, means to release the door section for movement by said counterweight, means 7 to control an air supply to said device, a trigger connected with said release, a -trig ger. connected with said air-control, said triggers being positioned for operation by a passing vehicle, and a projecting member connected with said release adapted to be withdrawn when said release is withdrawn. and adapted to be engaged by said air-control means to hold said air-control means until said air device has moved thedoor to the-limit in said oppositedirection.

3. An automatically operated door comprising a pair of .door sections movable in opposite directions, means connecting said sections to cause them to move in unison, one of said sections being heavier than the other to move said sections in one direction, a latch engaging one of said sections to pre vent said movement; releasing means connected with said latch, a device to move the sections -in the opposite direction, means to ca ml sa d de i e, a d r gge s c n ected 13 1 ,asaoaa with said releasing means and said devicecontrol means and adapted to be operated by a passing vehicle.

4. An automatically operated door comprising a pair of door sections movable in opposite directions, means connecting said sections to cause them to move in unison, one of said sections being heavier than the other to move said sections in one direction, a latch engaging one of said sections to prevent said movement, releasing means connected with said lat-ch, a device to move the sections in the opposite direction, means to control said device, triggers connected with said releasing means and said device-control means and adapted to be operated by a passing vehicle.

5. An automatically operated door comprising a pair of door sect-ions movable in opposite directions, means connecting said sections to cause them to move in unison, the lower section being heavier than the upper section for the purpose of opening the door, a latch block on one section, a latch to engage said block to hold the doors in closed position, an airoperated member on one section to close the doors, an air valve controlling said member and having an operating arm, a plunger connected with said latch, said plunger being adapted to be engaged by said valve arm to hold said valve in open position to close the door sections, said latch block being adapted to move said latch at the end of the closing operation to withdraw said plunger to release said arm, means connected with said latch to move the same and said plunger, means connected with said valve arm to operate the valve, and a trigger connected with each of said means and adapted to be operated by a passing vehicle for opening and closing of said doors.

6. An automatically operated door comprising a pair of door sections movably relative to each other in a vertical direction, said doors being subjected to a force which tends to hold them in open position, a latch member on one section, a trigger member cooperating with said latch and adapted to hold said door in closed position, means for operating said trigger to release the door whereby it may open, an air operated device for closing said door, and means for controlling said device.

7- An automatically operated door comprising a pair of door sections relatively movable in parallel planes, means connecting said sections to cause them to move in unison, means cooperating with said sections for imparting to them a tendency to move to open position, a latch engaging one of said sections to prevent said movement, releasing means connected with said latch, a compressed air operated mechanism for moving said doors to closed position, said means comprising a cylinder and a piston operatively connected between one of said door sections and a stationary portion of a building, means for controlling the flow of air to said mechanism.

In testimony whereof I affix my si nature.

FREDRICK B. NEW 4 LL. 

